Self Pity
by Out Of Sheol
Summary: Sakura gets attacked while wandering off feeling sorry for herself that Sasuke does not love her. Will Sasuke be able to rescue her? Or will she die, unloved, at the hands of her attacker?
1. Self Pity

Disclosure: Again, I don't own Naruto (can't help but feel stupid saying that).

Warning:** Violence** and **language** (to be safe, though I don't remember too many curse words in this one)

Criticism: Yes please! I really would appreciate reviews, preferably honest reviews, the franker the better. But anything goes!

A/N: The story takes place **before** the Chunin exams. And branches into an AU; the events that happen in this story will change the events of the Chunin exam. Also, Sakura is kind of in a depressive state here, so she probably won't think or talk very highly of herself, so keep that in mind.

Synopsis: Sakura gets attacked while outside feeling sorry for herself that Sasuke does not love her, will Sasuke be able to rescue her? Or will she die unloved at the hands of her attacker?

* * *

**Self Pity**

Sakura let out a deep breath; just how long was she planning on staying out here? She glanced at her wrist watch; the face read nearly one in the morning. Her mom was probably going to ground her the moment she stepped foot in the door. But somehow she just couldn't bring herself to go home. It felt good to stand out here in the cool night air.

_"Sometimes I wish I could just hate him already._" Sakura said inwardly, her mind on the same topic it had been since training had ended at quarter passed seven.

_"I mean, he could at least attempt to be nice to me._" Sakura thought again. _"And what's worst, he said I'm a worst fighter then Naruto."_

Sakura rested her head upon the tree she had been pacing around. "Then again," This time the words found their way to her lips. "It's not like I really can argue." Images of their last mission seem to float back into her mind: Naruto rushing forward to protect the old village woman from the first thug's attacks; Sasuke taking three thugs who were approaching from behind; and Sakura, all the while, was just standing in the background.

Sakura let out a smirk, "Who am I kidding anyway; I couldn't even handle a few street thugs, who were so tough they needed to pick on a decrypted woman over the age of seventy-five."

"I suppose even in simple missions like those I merely stand out of the way." Sakura took her head off of the tree and started off in a different direction, apparently her subconscious self was tired of pacing the tree.

Sakura had been wandering for a good twenty minutes, all the while still muttering to herself; she was completely lost in her own thoughts, she didn't realize that she had long entered a poorer, more deserted part of the village.

"This doesn't make any sense; I mean I'm the one who got one of the highest scores in the academy." Sakura pushed a lose strand of her pink hair out of her face.

"I was the one who mastered chakra control long before those two did anyway." A loose stone on the road caused her to stumble. That did it.

"What is with this?" Sakura all but yelled, "Am I that helpless that I can't even walk across a path without falling!"

"Apparently so." Spoke a voice coming from behind her. Immediately she spun around, eyes alarmed, she hadn't noticed anyone outside at all, much less anyone behind her.

The road was dark. Sakura inwardly sighed, without realizing it she managed to walk in the opposite direction of her house and ended up in a part of the village where few lived. The environment seemed to reflect the lack of people; the nearest street light was out, probably due to lack of repair. Yet, fortunately a full moon was out which allowed her to get a good look at the stranger up ahead.

About ten paces ahead of her stood a tall fellow wearing a long, gray overcoat that hung down a little past his heals. He had a lean face which at first seemed to give him a famished look. His hair, which looked gray in the moonlight, was short and spiky revealing ears that looked a little too high up on his head, yet his eyes seemed to glow in the dark, a brilliant shade of light green. To Sakura he seemed to resemble a starving coyote hanging around the outskirts of town prowling for a meal.

"Excuse me?" Sakura called out to the stranger; "I don't recall asking you to join in my conversation." She still was feeling pretty pissed off right now. And besides from the fact that the man was tall, he really didn't seem like a threat; if anything he seemed like he would fall over at even the lightest touch, let alone facing a ninja. And she was a ninja, she reminded herself, her inner pride beginning to show its stubborn head, she was a beautiful, female ninja; she could kick ass (Cha! She seemed to scream inside).

Sakura smirked; _"This could be a good opportunity to blown off some steam."_

The fellow stared at her for a moment; perhaps he was taken aback by her sudden change of posture and surge of confidence. _Hmpt,_ Sakura smirked, _serves him right_.

Then, perhaps reality dawned on the man, because he shook his head slightly and chuckled.

"So, having a little trouble keeping up with the boys are we?"

"I said mind your own business, you nosy, loiter!" Sakura liked this; this dopey, skinny guy was going to take all of the bunt of her anger, and she was going to enjoy this. Just for once she wanted to rip someone down the way Sasuke had done to her.

"My, aren't you a rude, little girl." Said the man, "I was only going to give you the _always next year _speech, but clearly you do seem to think a little bit more highly of yourself than you probably should."

"Oh really," Sakura said, "Well, I for one sure don't want the advise of a low-life street rat, who looks like he can't even get a decent meal, much less pull off a successful ninja mission."

"And in case you haven't notice," Sakura continued, "I am a ninja; I've gone on tons of successful missions; like to see you even get through the academy, much less graduate top of the class."

All the anger that kept building up seemed to be justified as Sakura continued to lash out at the stranger; yet, in the back of her mind, she was beginning to feel worse than before.

"Tough girl, then." Said the man, the smirk gone off of his face, "Then tell me, why is it that you are wandering around my part of the village, feeling sorry for yourself if you are this great ninja?"

"Hmpt," If she spat, she would have spit in his face, "First off, I wasn't feeling sorry for myself, I was merely thinking."

"And second; I told you to buzz off," More anger relieved; "If I wanted to include the opinion of garbage like you, I would have had this conversation in a sewer." The back of her mind was beginning to ache; she was reminding herself of Ino, talking this way to someone. Even Naruto wasn't this mean, and she was always getting on his case for his lack of manners. Was Sasuke driving her this far?

"You know," said the man, for the first time coming closer to her, "If you wanted someone to teach you some manners, then all you needed to do was ask." There was no smile on his face, and his eyes seemed to gleam in the moonlight.

"Otherwise little girl, you need to learn your place." The closer he got to her, the more she started to wonder if her judgments about him were correct. He seemed taller than what she first thought, and a bit sturdier.

_"Come on, Sakura, if you can't take on 'string bean' here, how are you supposed to keep up with Sasuke or even Naruto?_" The man stopped about a meter from her; Sakura resumed fighting stance. _"How is Sasuke ever going to respect me, if I can't even take care of myself?"_

"You know," said the man, pulling out a long knife (which was nearly the size of his arm) from inside his overcoat. "As a ninja, I would have thought that you would have been a better judge of character."

This close he definitely didn't seem wimpy or starving-skinny; just what was she thinking? But she couldn't back down now, could she? Would this stranger even let her now anyway? _"Even if I was a bit off about this guy_," Sakura thought, taking out two kunai from their holders on her thigh; _"I am still a ninja while he is just a regular guy off of the street; I can handle him_."

"For a ninja at the top of her class you clearly didn't pay attention." He began to approach her, Sakura taking small steps backward; the result was them making a circle, with the stranger leading the dance.

"First off," he said, mimicking her earlier list offs, "A ninja should always be aware of his environment." Then he pulled out another, slightly smaller blade from the long sleeve of the right arm of his overcoat. "I mean, I thought this was basic knowledge that they taught to even the youngest of students at the academy."

Sakura hoped she hid the terror that was beginning to spread inside her gut, urging her to flee. The last knife he pulled though smaller, seemed to drive home one clear fact: she really was out in deep water here. First, wandering off into the middle of nowhere, nothing looked familiar (and now that she thought of it, things had stopped looking recognizable more than ten minutes back). Not to mention what was she thinking provoking someone like that with little knowledge of his history or skills, not even Naruto did something this stupid. Sasuke, however mean he had been, was more than right saying those things to her if this was the situation she landed herself in.

Immediately, Sakura wanted to cry (her fist reaction whenever she got herself in a pickle). But this was a situation where crying would do very little for her; in fact, if anything she would be next to dead if she did. Yes, she had screwed up; but the only thing that was saving her right now was her cool and her apparent confidence, the moment she lost that she practically gave him the right to end her life right there.

"So you wanna fight then, loiter?" Sakura said, putting on her cockiest grin, "Well seeing how I'm a ninja and you're not; it's your neck."

It was then that Sakura realized something that she hadn't thought of before: this was the first time that she was in a life-threatening situation where she was all by herself. And now that she thought of it, both of her other teammates had already fought in situations like this long before they joined Team 7. Naruto had told her several times how he had graduated (by attacking a corrupt teacher with his Shadow Clones and beating the guy to a pulp); even Sasuke had handled himself solo, though he never bragged about it (of course he never talked to her, so that wasn't saying much).

But Sakura always had someone beside her: before as a student she had her teacher and her classmates at the academy and this was the case even now in Team 7. She always felt safe, to be all honest, next to Sasuke and even Naruto. Wow, she had never given Naruto any credit, what with him being last in class and all, but he really had protected her a lot on the missions as well.

Just then the long knife swiped at her upper arm. This had taken her completely off guard; she had expected him to go for a killing zone, like her midsection, or chest or even her neck, but not there. Throwing all of her strength into it, she tried to dodge the attack.

Sakura drew in a quick breath to prevent the scream that almost escaped as the tip of his blade opened a long, but not so deep, gash from her shoulder to her upper arm on her left side.

"You see," said the man, "You really aren't prepared for anything are you?"

Sakura could feel the warmth of her blood drenching her clothes. Her mind was really starting to panic. "_No, Sakura calm down_." She desperately tried to tell herself. _"The moment I panic is the moment I die."_

"Real life battle isn't like playing games in your little dojo; you can't just remember theory and expect me to play by your rules."

Just then he swung the second blade; immediately Sakura thought it looked like he would go for her other arm to even the score, so she went to block the attack. But instead, at the last minute he sliced the smaller blade downward and caught her upper thigh with a quick swipe.

This time Sakura couldn't help crying out. At this, the man grinned.

Instinctively, she went to caress her right leg, accidentally dropping the kunai in her left hand as she did. She had never been cut before, not like this. Not even while training.

During training, it had always been Naruto or Sasuke that had taken blows from Kakashi-sensei, for she had never charged at her teacher. Now that she thought of it, why hadn't she ever tried to fight her teacher like the others had? How was she supposed to fight off some attacker on a mission who wanted her dead, if she never had the guts to practice an attack against her teacher, who clearly wouldn't kill her if she made a mistake.

The reason for her passivity had always been simple: she was too engaged watching Sasuke, admiring his strategic attacks which were in her mind always planed and perfect. Yet, Sasuke wasn't here now. _When are you gonna get that Sasuke could care less if you live or die?_ This voice came from deep down. It was not the one that had always cheered for her love of Sasuke, but the other one; the one who was so strong when she was little, the one that told her to runaway and hide when the other kids had picked on her for having a large forehead. The one that still told her that her forehead was huge and that she had mediocre to none skills as a ninja.

_It was really worth it, wasn't it?_ Continued the voice. _Spent all that time worshiping Sasuke; but where is he now, now that you need him more than ever?_

Then the man's voice broke her thoughts.

"Where is all of your big talk now, little girl?"

As Sakura was leaning forward concealing the wound on her leg, the man made another attack, this time going for her throat. With all she had in her, Sakura threw herself out of the way. This time she was successful. The fatal shot that meant to slit her throat only managed to nick the side of her neck, close to her shoulder. She landed on the ground and somehow managed to roll, so as not to land on her knife. At least she got something out of her training.

For the first time that night, the stranger laughed. His mocking laughter seemed to make her steps all the more slower as she regained her footing.

"So, tell me again, little ninja," said the man, slicing his first blade at her midsection, "Just how many successful missions have you gone on?" Sakura threw her kunai against his incoming blade to jam his attack, however, this attack was only a diversion, and his second, smaller blade went and sliced her other upper arm (this was her right arm, the only one with a weapon).

Perhaps it was due to adrenaline, or maybe the shallowness of the cut, but the last time she was cut in the upper arm, other than the pain she didn't feel any effect. This time however, her fingers around the blade seemed to knot up; the muscles beginning to spasm; it was only moments now before she dropped her weapon.

_"Dammit," _Sakura thought, _"He hit a critical spot, and at this rate I won't be able to hold my weapon for much longer."_

"Where are your little comments now, little ninja?"

Sakura was tiring; she honestly didn't know if she could go any longer. Somehow she had to get away. Perhaps she could distract him and then run away. No, not with the way he had slashed her leg; she would at least have to limp, and then he would have no problem catching up to her. But then again, he would have to have ninja speed to catch her, and now that she thought of it, she wasn't certain if he was a ninja or not.

"So, how is it that you know so much about ninjas, unless you are one yourself?"

"Really, are you just now finding this out?" the man said and slashed at her again, this time nicking at her hands, "For a ninja you sure took forever to come to that conclusion, you must be some liability to your teammates."

No sooner had he said that then Sakura's weapon dropped out of her hand and fell to the ground. That last cut had done her in, the ripped muscles in her fingers just could not hold on any longer; this was the last straw.

For a moment which seemed stretched, Sakura watched as her kunai slowly fell to the ground, only to be kicked away by his boot. Sakura stared up at the stranger who had just won the fight; there was no hiding it now, fear clearly was evident in her large, green eyes.

_"Is this my end?_" She could see no other way to fight this man; clearly he was superior to her in fighting techniques. What then? Should she try to escape? He had already told her that he was a ninja as well, so hoping to out run him using ninja speed was out of the question, especially with her injuries.

_"How had it gone this far? Where did I go wrong?"_

"Don't worry, little girl," he said, this time reaching for a strand of her long hair, "Death won't come for still sometime." Sakura tried to push him away, but he was quick (even somehow quicker than he had been while fighting her) and he grabbed her by her arm (which already hurt like hell from her earlier injury) and pulled her towards him until her cheek was against his mouth. She could feel his teeth and his tongue as he nibbled on her skin. The smell of onion mixed with tobacco from his breath made her nauseous for a moment.

"Get off me!" Sakura said, death or not, she couldn't take this; not Sakura, she refused to give in. With her non injured leg she thrust her knee into his groin. He groaned; he really had thought she was done in, enough for him to drop his guard. Groaning, now anger replaced his features, his bright green eyes narrowing and his lips etching into a sneer, making his already bony cheeks look even narrower.

Sakura used this time to back away from him, but nothing could prepare her for what he did next. Out of nowhere, he lunched at her, catching her uninjured knee with his knife.

Sakura let out a scream, and fell forward. The pain in her knee was almost unbearable. If dying of pain was something a human being could do, Sakura was surprised she wasn't dead.

"Stop it, please!" Sakura said, tears trailing down her cheeks, her body trembling under the pain.

"Look I didn't mean to offend you, okay." So much for her tough face, she couldn't stop herself now.

"I was just so angry at Sasuke; I didn't mean it, I swear, I'm sorry!"

His lean face smiled as he knelt down beside her. Gently he put his hand on her leg, just above her injured knee. Sakura was holding her leg, as if that alone would stop the blood gushing from her knee; she was shaking so badly her head was beginning to hurt from the motion.

Gently he patted her leg, "And what have we learned little girl?"

"N-not to ju-ju-judge b-by appear-ance." Sakura shivered. Inside, one side of her mind was screaming at her to get up, to stop crying, and to just try to appear strong; but the other side of her mind (the one that was winning) was telling her to appeal to her injurer and get his mercy.

"Now that's very good," He said, as if he was one of her teachers, "That will keep you out of trouble." Sakura nodded, still hugging her knee.

"However," Said the stranger, his voice suddenly turning deadly cold, "Once you've gone that far you can't go back." Sakura didn't even have time to react before the man grabbed her injured knee and squeezed his palm. Uncontrollably, Sakura started screaming. With a slap to her face, the man had pushed her to the ground and was pressing her body against the ground with his body weight.

Sakura was uncontrollably crying before she began to scream out the only name that was in her mind "Sasuke!"

Yet no one came. _No one would be coming._ When was she going to get it that he cared little for her; so little in fact, that her death might actually be a relief seeing how annoying she was and how much she just got in the way.

Those thoughts kept circling around her head, and if Sakura was not in so much pain, she would have wondered why in God's name was she thinking of Sasuke not liking her at a time like this. The stranger was tearing her red over-shirt off with his short blade; haphazardly he was cutting through the fabrics.

"Sasuke, help me!" Sakura still kept yelling; despite her thoughts.

* * *

_Earlier that night…_

Sasuke tossed in his bed for the eighth time that night. As usual he couldn't sleep. After another fifteen minutes of staring at the ceiling, Sasuke decided to go tire himself out training. It would be a better use of his time anyway; anything was better than just staring at the ceiling alone with his thoughts.

It was almost one in the morning when Sasuke left his apartment. He decided he would go to the regular training area where his team usually trained, for no other reason then his lack of creativity. He arrived at the open area and spotted the center tree; however before he could approach it he noticed a sliver of pink hair peaking out from behind the tree._ "Sakura,"_ Sasuke thought, "_What is she still doing here?"_

Sasuke was about to turn around and go off to another open area, either that or just go home, when he noticed that Sakura was leaving. Sasuke quickly concealed himself up in a tree, waiting until she passed by; he didn't feel like talking to her.

However, she never came by. After about ten seconds or so (the time it should have taken her to pass by) Sasuke jumped down from the tree. Approaching the training area, he could just barely make her out, heading in the opposite direction. Though it was a little odd that she was going in the wrong direction from her house, Sasuke really didn't care that much to go after her and ask. Besides if he did that, then he would have to talk to her.

His mind soon forgot about Sakura because then he turned to the large tree in the center of the grounds, which contained several targets. With his goal in focus, Sasuke lunched forward, throwing three shuriken at the tree only to have all three throwing weapons hit the center circle of the target. Stopping only for an instant to see if the mark rang true, Sasuke flung another set of three, this time starting with his back facing the target. Spinning around, using the momentum from the turn, Sasuke launched the shuriken three at a time and watched as they hit the bullseye, two knocking the previous throw out of the way.

Sasuke had been training for the last hour and a half: it was two thirty in the morning. Sasuke was breathing hard, kneeling on one knee a short distance from the training tree. Finally, he was tired. Now he could go home and go to sleep; no spare time to think, just several hours of dreamless sleep. Pulling out all of his shuriken that were wedged into the tree, Sasuke headed for his house.

He was just passing Sakura's house, when he saw that the lights were still on. Seeing Sakura's house reminded him of when he had seen her earlier; now that he thought back Sakura had never returned to the training area (she had to since that was the only way to get to her house). To be honest, Sasuke had been pushing himself so hard that he had forgotten about Sakura. Perhaps she had seen him training and had decided to cross by quietly so as not to bother him. No, not the same Sakura he knew; no, she would have had to stop by for a little chat. The thought of it made Sasuke roll his eyes. Then again, if Sakura had gone by and hadn't bothered him perhaps she wasn't as annoying as he thought. Perhaps, just maybe there was a chance that Sakura would grow up and start paying more attention to her training instead of obsessing over him.

On that thought, Sasuke walked past her house, glancing only briefly out of the corner of his eye. He was almost out of earshot when he heard a worried, feminine voice cry out, "But she didn't come home and it's almost three in the morning; where can she be?"

Sasuke stopped. _So Sakura hadn't come home. _Which meant she hadn't come by the training area discretely so as not to bother him; it meant that she hadn't come back at all. Unless she really did pass by the training area and had just chosen not to go home.

The last thought though sounded forced; just as he knew Naruto, Sasuke knew Sakura. It was simply beyond hope to think that Sakura would have seen him training and not stopped by; that would be the same as Naruto coming to an entire day's training not opening his mouth at all. Once again, as much as Sasuke wished it, it was like icicles forming in Hell, never going to happen.

Sasuke rolled his eyes; he didn't have time to baby-sit those two; both Naruto and Sakura were, at most times, liabilities. How would he ever be able to get stronger if all he did was chase them around all day (and now all night too). Were they not capable of taking care of themselves?

"Go and find her," Sakura's mother said to her husband, "If you don't, I will."

Her voice was so filled with worry and distress, for a moment it took Sasuke's thoughts away from how annoying his teammates were. For a moment, Sasuke Uchiha was back in front of his own mother, hearing the worry in her voice as she scolded him for running too fast and falling down and scrapping his knee. At the time, he thought she was being too overprotective. But, now he would give anything to have her worry about him, even if it was over so trivial a thing.

Turning back towards the training area, Sasuke decided to go and look for Sakura. He just hoped he didn't have to stay out too long; it was kind of upsetting really, for the first time in a good week he was finally feeling tired enough to actually fall asleep for longer than two hours at a time, so much for that.

* * *

_Thirty minutes earlier…_

"There is no one here; not for at least a mile or so, and this Sasuke you keep calling for will find your body cold and torn up when he finally gets here."

"Please," Sakura said, "Please, I have a m-mother a-and father who w-will miss me; I have fr-iends, and I really, r-really want to s-see them again." Sakura was all but frantic; so much for the fearless, beautiful ninja. She kept petting at the stranger's clothes, as if trying to fix them. "Please, I d-don't want to die; p-please, I'm begging you."

"You truly are a little brat, aren't you?" Said the man; "Now that you don't get your way—" His face close enough that his ragged breath seemed to be her only oxygen.

"—You think that by crying it will all be over," A grin spread across his lips revealing tar-stained teeth, "Not this time, this time I am going to hurt you until you can't feel pain anymore."

His rough and cold hands were now against her pale skin, the last pieces of her shirt were finally cut off.

Sakura struggled as he brought the knife down to her pants and began to cut. She began to scream louder as his knife went to work, hacking away at her pants, every so often the sharp tip making contact with her skin. She kept screaming, squirming, only to be slapped when she got a good enough of a thrust to push him away.

"Sasuke!" Sakura cried out; she was hysterical now; this was it, she was going to get raped and cut up until she finally breathed her last. But even though she knew he was not coming, and that this was the end, she still continued to cry out his name.

"Sasuke!"

SLAP! The back of a calloused hand smacked upon her face.

"Stopped calling that name." Sakura was trapped beneath the tall man's weight. He had taken off his overcoat; Sakura felt the rough leather from his vest and pants digging into her bare skin, covered meagerly by her undergarments. She kept screaming until the man clamped his hand over her mouth. Sakura was still crying; then she felt the tip of the long blade against her throat.

"Listen, bitch," said the man, as he tightened his grip over her mouth, "The next time you scream you'll loose a finger—" His other hand yanking one of her fingers up.

"Then, for every scream, you'll loose another one."

"You got it," Hissed the man inches above her face, "I'm gonna remove my hand, and you are gonna be silent or your death will be far more painful than I was going to make it."

Somehow Sakura nodded;_ "Sasuke, help me_." Then the man removed his hand. Sakura could feel him begin to suck on her neck, his hand going downward to cup her breast. Sakura went to let out a whimper, but then the blade at her neck stopped her.

Suddenly, there was a pause; her attacker looked up as if someone was there. But before Sakura had time to wonder, a bluish-white blur hurled past her, sending her attacker flying.

It took a moment for Sakura's mind to register what was happening; her body was burning from pains all over. She could tell that she had lost a considerable amount of blood; she knew it was only a matter of time before she lost consciousness.

She expected to see her attacker climb back on top of her. Her body felt cold from more than just loss of blood, her naked skin tingled from the chilled air, which was mostly exposed considering she was only wearing her undergarments, of which parts of her training bar had already been shredded by her attacker's knife.

However, she didn't see her attacker; instead it was none other than Sasuke Uchiha. Sakura blinked her eyes, which were already crowded by tears. After several blinks that freed several trapped tears and let them spill down her cheeks, she went to opened her eyes again, expecting the comforting image of Sasuke to be replaced by her attacker. But when she opened her eyes Sasuke was still there.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said, her words barely making it out as a whisper. She could see the familiar fan symbol of the Uchiha clan on the back of his dark blue shirt; his familiar jet, black hair that spiked up in the back; the typical oversized collar that he usually wore; it really was Sasuke. He was standing in front of her in a defensive stance ready to fight for her.

Sasuke heard Sakura whisper his name; from the corner of his eye he quickly scanner her over. He had never seen her looking like this before: her clothes were all but gone save for her undergarments, revealing her bare, pale skin covered in deep slashes all over her body, and littered in the fragments of her ripped, red over-shirt. Her face was bruised, no doubt from beatings, but also smudged with dirt and tears.

What was he thinking? He should have came after her the moment he saw her heading out in the wrong direction in the middle of the night. Had he really jeopardized her safety just so he could avoid the few minutes that he would have had to stand talking to her?

A new anger began to pump through his veins; this bastard was going to pay.

Sakura's attacker took a moment to recover; apparently Sasuke had charged him with more chakra and strength then he first thought. Then the attacker did stand up, his two blades in hand, their edges stained with crimson colored blood; Sakura's blood. The attacker seemed to follow the path from Sasuke's eyes towards his blades; a small grin split his lean face.

"So, are you the famous Sasuke the little girl kept crying for?"

_Sakura had cried out for him? _Sasuke's felt the anger in him growing all the more.

"Well, you look about as weak as she is," the attacker said, "No challenge here—"

The moment the man started talking though, Sasuke pulled out three shuriken from his back pocket, and sent them flying at the smirking man before him.

The throwing weapons would have gone straight through the man's heart had he not brought up his long blade to intercept them, the three shuriken ricocheted off in every direction.

"Then again," said the attacker; a twisted grin spreading across his lean face, "This might be interesting."

Sasuke stared at the man before him, his dark eyes narrowing. His first thought then was to take this man's life. He also knew that Sakura needed medical attention and soon, else all of this would be for nothing. He had to make this fight quick.

No sooner had he thought of that, then Sakura's attacker lunched at him, slicing his long blade in an arch towards Sasuke's legs, while keeping the smaller blade defensively placed to guard against attacks to his chest.

_"Hn,_" Sasuke thought, "_So this guy does know his stuff; we'll see about that."_

Flipping backward to get out of the way of his enemy's swipe, Sasuke simultaneously threw a shuriken as he jumped, aiming it straight at the man's heart. The weapon was so quick that the attacker couldn't avoid it; but in the last minute the man raised his leg to block its path and the weapon pierced a little below his knee.

The man let out a snicker, "So you're quicker than the little bitch," Then he pulled out the shuriken, holding it in the same hand as the smaller sword, "However, you've just given me another weapon."

But Sasuke was ready. The man lunged at Sasuke, his long blade swinging for his throat, the smaller blade simultaneously going for his midsection; Sasuke's own shuriken thrown back at him, sent directly for his groin. Instantly, almost even before his own mind could register it, the world pulsed and everything got slower. His dark eyes had shown a crimson red. All at once, the three strikes coming from his opponent seemed to come at him in slow motion. Sasuke, threw a shuriken to intercept with the shuriken heading for his groin, simultaneously, he ducked out of the way of the long blade coming for his throat, and with his fighting arm holding a kunai, he blocked the smaller knife that would have gone straight into his midsection.

_"Sharingan._" Sasuke thought. _"This might be over quicker than I first thought."_

Shock was clearly evident in the eyes of Sakura's attacker; he wasn't expecting this. However, it was only momentarily, before he brought his long knife in an arching swipe towards the side of Sasuke's neck. Instantly, Sasuke brought out a slightly longer knife than a kunai from his side pocket, and before the attacker's blade could touch his neck, Sasuke blocked it with the weapon.

The two stood at a stand still; both of their blades interlocked. The attacker grinned.

"I see now why she kept calling for you," he said, "Who knew she had an Uchiha in her back pocket."

Sasuke just bared his teeth at the man; in his mind however, Sasuke was quickly thinking of his next strategy; he knew that if he stayed tangled with the tall man too long, he might loose his footing.

"Hmm," said the attacker, "I thought them all to be killed off; no matter though, your line ends tonight."

Sasuke focused on the man before him; he began to search him with his Sharingan. In his mind, Sasuke could almost see this man's last fight with Sakura; the man liked to play with his victims, immobilizing them before he went in for the kill (as he had tried to do to Sasuke as well). Sasuke felt a pang of guilt; Sakura would have been easy prey for this opponent's fighting style; it was too erratic and it went against most fighting techniques. Most fighters would go for killing spots so as to finish off their opponent quicker; this was probably what Sakura had been expecting. She probably had lasted only a few minutes against this man.

Sasuke on the other hand, had fought against people using this technique before; he had even tried to use this technique himself once or twice, when the occasion called for it. He had first been exposed to this style of fighting when he had sparred with Itachi long ago. His brother had told him that this style could at times be the most enjoyable of all fighting styles. Though, after trying it out a few times, Sasuke found it to be too sadistic for his taste. This time however, perhaps he would enjoy it considering what that bastard had done to Sakura.

The man's words then captured Sasuke's attention.

"Not that, I'm not enjoying this, you do seem quick, you even surprise me (and that's not easy to do)," he said, "However I am anxious to get back to our little friend over there; we were just getting to the fun part, before your little interruption."

Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw Sakura. She had managed to sit up and had brought her knees up to her chest, her bare arms were still bleeding, especially the right one. She had her ripped shirt draped over her knee, and was trying to use it to stop the bleeding, but Sasuke could see a thick trail of blood still seeping from underneath the cloth; her body must have been too tired to apply the necessary pressure to clot the wound. It was only for a moment, but he caught her eyes.

Sasuke had no intention of letting this guy beat him, and looking at her only confirmed this thought in his mind; he only hoped that Sakura could hang on for just a bit longer.

He turned his attention back to his opponent (placing Sakura's condition at the back of his mind, for the moment). In reality, he hadn't ever taken his attention completely off of his attacker (that would have opened a weakness in his defense).

He needed to turn the tables of this battle; attack on the offensive, not just defend. That was another part of this man's fighting strategy: to always keep his opponents on the defensive, while he slowly broke down their strength by targeting the required muscles needed which allowed for attack, dodge, and weapon grip. But, Sasuke had something none of his attacker's other opponents had had before: the Sharingan, and with it, Sasuke would be able to predict all of this man's movements.

Sasuke glared at the man, still maintaining his grip on both his knife and his kunai. Then Sakura's attacker sprung backwards untangling himself from Sasuke. Sasuke wasn't surprised, after searching his opponent intently, he found the man to have a false sense of patience; that though he enjoyed toying with his prey, it was only at his leisure and not theirs.

Next, Sasuke knew that this man would make his attacks frequent in order to confuse him. However, the one thing that Sasuke wasn't aware of was that this man had had previous experience with the Sharingan.

* * *

A/N: So who wants Sasuke to save her and who wants Sakura to end up getting killed by the attacker? Just wondering what you guys think (I'm not anti-Sakura here, it's just an innocent question, hehe!) But in all seriousness, what do you guys prefer?

Anyways, thanks for reading! And keep reviewing, pretty please :P


	2. To Die in Vain

Disclosure: Again, I don't own Naruto (can't help but feel stupid saying that).

Warning:** Violence** and **language** (to be safe)

Thanks: Sorry, it has taken longer then I thought to update this story; I have been so busy lately. Though, reviews always get me motivated again. So to all of you who reviewed: T-H-A-N-K-S! And thanks to all of you who favorited as well! Lastly, thanks everyone for reading. Thanks for your patience.

Criticism: Yes please! I really would appreciate reviews, preferably honest reviews, the franker the better. But anything goes!

A/N: The story takes place **before** the Chunin exams. And branches into an AU; the events that happen in this story will change the events of the Chunin exam. Also, Sakura is kind of in a depressive state here, so she probably won't think or talk very highly of herself, so keep that in mind. And thanks to those of you who have reviewed this story! Enjoy!

Synopsis: Sakura gets attacked while outside feeling sorry for herself that Sasuke does not love her, will Sasuke be able to rescue her? Or will she die unloved at the hands of her attacker?

* * *

**To Die In Vain**

Unbeknownst to Sasuke, the man before him had encountered one other opponent that used the Sharingan and it was through fighting this opponent that Sakura's attacker had learned its undoing.

When it all breaks down to it, the Sharingan is an ability that allows the user to understand how things work. This understanding is so great that it would appear that the Sharingan wielder could read his opponent's mind, and see his next move. However, this in reality is not true in the slightest. The Sharingan is simply a trick on the mind.

By examining their opponent as he fights

The attacker smiled to himself as he saw the boy's weakness expose itself so beautifully to him. He would allow the boy to think he had the upper hand; he would pretend that he had never encountered the power that was the Sharingan. It would be believable enough; Sharingan-wielders were scarce in these days. Besides even if the boy suspected his attacker to be familiar with the Sharingan, it was a powerful feat to defeat. The bloodline trait gave the Uchiha clan a sense of superiority among their fellow ninjas since few stood a chance against it; even if they did understand how it worked, there was a difference between merely understanding the theory behind something and putting that knowledge to practical use.

For the wielders of the Sharingan were given the ability to quickly learn all of their opponents' attacks and justus and then use them against their opponents in order to drive them mad and cause them to believe the illusion that somehow their moves were being seen before they actually made them.

Yes, he had come across a Sharingan wielder before, and the Uchiha had almost been the death of him, almost. The only thing that had saved him from imminent death had been the Uchiha's pride. The Uchiha had been so confident in his abilities that he was sure he had won the fight. So sure, in fact, that he had left his defeated opponent to die, thinking he had done the man in with his opponent's own, self-crafted jutsu.

However, he had not died. Like the Uchiha's Sharingan, he had a power of his own. He had chose to disciple a man powerful enough to bring the near dead back to life. This was his master, the one he had served since he was a boy. And while he lay there dying, he called out for his teacher who had given him a way to communicate via chakra connections; this had allowed the two to speak to each other from across long distances. Sure to his word, his master came and resurrected him from his near death state. His master was a powerful Medic-nin who possessed a signature jutsu that he used to regrow dead cells, clot deep wounds, and sustain the heart.

"Jin," His master had said to him, the ancient and wispy voice of the older man spoken in a tone that resembled affection.

"Yes, my master," he had replied in a drained and weak voice.

"So you finally found a battle far more than even you could handle, boy?"

He had only smirked at that, before unconsciousness had claimed him. It would be a month's time before he had healed enough to be on his feet again.

When he finally was able to move around, he went in search of his master. His teacher most often mediated. So it was no surprise when he found him sitting on the wooden floor of the dojo in a state of meditation.

He sat down at his master's side, his back perfectly straight, his legs folded beneath him. For awhile they looked like master and student of some old samurai faction, except that neither of them was dressed in such clothes. Jin wore his usual trench coat and black leather attire underneath, while his master was dressed in robes similar to a monk's. Finally after about an hour his master spoke.

"And now you are finally feeling better then?" Though it wasn't a question, but a declaration.

"You should know," Jin replied with a smirk, "You were the one to restore me."

"So I take it that the Uchiha did not fall short of my expectations?"

"Well, he did almost slay me."

"Hm?" his master thought, "Then I suppose I shall set off to retrieve him in the morning then."

"No, master," Jin replied, "Let me try him once more, for I think I figured out a way to beat him."

"Hm," his master seemed to think about that for a moment, then he paused, "I would have preferred to finally get an Uchiha; I have been quite curious how they work."

"Patience, my master," Jin replied emotionlessly, "There are plenty where they come from, there will be others."

His master went silent at this, Jin pressed onward, using the man's silence to his advantage. "If I am able to beat him, then this will work greatly in our favor. If I can prove my theory in how the Sharingan can be defeated, then any other Uchiha that we come up against will stand little chance."

His master seemed to be considering it. "And you are sure this theory of yours is relatively correct?"

"I would bet my life on it," Jin said with a smirk.

"Then so be it," his master said, "Kill this one, but bring his eyes to me for study."

Jin nodded in a silent reply, before closing his eyes again, and once more resuming meditation with his master.

* * *

Jin stared at the young Uchiha before him. Ever since the Uchiha massacre, he had promised his master that the next of that bloodline he encountered would go to his master's studies. Jin had heard there were only a few left. Only two in fact. However, it still didn't mean that Jin would not test the boy. One of the last Uchiha or not, there was no way he could allow a weakling to stand before his master. Not his master. There was no one Jin respected more in his life; no one he valued more, than his master. And he would be long since dead before he brought a weakling to stand before such a great man.

The dark haired Uchiha threw another set of shuriken at Jin; quickly he dropped into a crouch and allowed the weapons to pass over him, leaving him unharmed.

A smirk again came upon his features. It was only in the small details—the slight tremble of fingers, a fraction of a second delay between reactions—but Jin could tell that the boy was tiring. It seemed like the Uchiha had already exhausted himself earlier that night…

Jin wondered how long he would last.

* * *

Sasuke knew this man was testing him. It irked him that his opponent thought so little of him that he dared to toy with him.

Sasuke snarled at the man. He was an Uchiha; there was no way he could allow for such insolence, especially from an opponent.

His Sharingan already activated, Sasuke quickened the speed of his attack. He was done just using Taijutsu; it was time to show this bastard what the Uchiha family was really capable of.

* * *

Sakura was straying in and out of consciousness; her body felt so weak, so tired. Every time she came out of the void, more pain flooded her senses. When she woke, she would see more of the battle that ragged between Sasuke and her attacker.

Yet, she wasn't afraid for Sasuke; of all the people she knew, Sasuke-kun would be able to take this man.

Yes, her Sasuke-kun had come for her, and now he was fighting for her; there was no way he was going to lose. And with that thought, Sakura passed out again.

* * *

Sasuke made several more hand signs: flames burst forth from his opened mouth, sending a trail of fire directly down the ropes which held his opponent. He had managed to tie his opponent to a tree with an attack that the other man had not seen coming. Yet, something didn't feel right—the fight felt almost too easy.

After the man had found out that Sasuke was an Uchiha it seemed like he had gotten sloppy. Perhaps it was simply the fear the Uchiha name evoked, or the blood red the Sharingan turned his eyes, that had instilled terror into the heart of his attacker.

Yet, Sasuke wasn't so sure. He felt a bit naive thinking this way about himself. Perhaps if he was thinking about his father or brother, or some other member of his kin in these regards, then he might feel more comfortable believing that they had actually scared the attacker into stupidity.

Then Sasuke got angry; why was it so hard to believe this same thing about himself?! Sasuke had trapped the man, and with his last fire attack there was no way the man could be pretending unless he actually wanted Sasuke to kill him. And Sasuke would kill him too; he had every intention on murdering his opponent at the first chance of an opening the man gave him.

Flames flew towards the man trapped against the tree and engulfed him.

Sasuke breathed a sign of relief. Finally it was over.

Suddenly, the burnt man poofed into smoke.

_"Just as I thought, there was no way it could be that easy. It was a clone."_ Quickly, Sasuke took a glance in Sakura's direction. The girl had passed out for the third time, probably due to the pain. But, at least his attacker wasn't anywhere near her. If Sakura didn't make it out of all of this, Sasuke was simply wasting his time.

It was then that several kunai rained down upon him, coming directly above him as if they were coming from the _sky?_ Suddenly, there were hundreds of kunai showering him, as if it were somehow raining lethally sharp weapons. Sasuke immediately blocked his neck and head. If he got hit there it was all over.

This seemed like a different move for his attacker to make. But then again, it would serve as the perfect form of torture. And from his first search of the man's mind Sasuke knew Sakura's attacker thrived on torturing his opponents. Yet, when Sasuke had searched this man's mind with his Sharingan he hadn't seen this type of attack available in the man's repertoire. So, how had his opponent come up with this move?

Sasuke had dropped into a ball and began to roll on the floor, trying to keep his body as mobile as possible; it would be far more difficult for those weapons to get a direct hit if he was moving. He continued to roll; yet the storm of kunai seemed endless, as if he were racing through some large and seemingly never-ending rain cloud. Sasuke grunted; where the hell had this came from? His opponent had seemed pretty straight forward. Sasuke had understood all of his tricks and strategies; so how was it possible that Sasuke had missed this one? Somehow he had to turn the tables in this fight else he wouldn't be able to save himself from this, Sharingan or not.

Suddenly, a thought stung him like a wasp. _Sakura?! _Was Sakura in this maelstrom? If so, then this fight was all in vain. There was no way she would not receive a lethal hit from one of the kunai if she was just lying there in the open; it was statistically impossible. As if to confirm this, Sakura made a low cry as if something had dug itself into her gut.

_Sakura! _Sasuke's mind screamed. Was she alive? He couldn't see her, the storm of kunai was getting thicker. Pain was starting to spring up all over his forearms, back and legs where the daggers kept striking him. He didn't even know where he was going; he couldn't see anything but the blur of the ground beneath him. For all he knew, in a matter of minutes he would run into a tree or smack into a fence, or worse.

How had the battle turned into this? He was sure that he had been acting as cautiously and strategically as he possibly could, he had even managed to overpower his opponent. Not to mention, as his mind kept screaming, he was certain he had found every trick and technique this man had to offer.

Perhaps his control over the Sharingan was no where near the level of his teacher's. Surely Kakashi would have been able to see a jutsu as powerful as this when he scanned the man's mind? Perhaps there was nothing really wrong with the Sharingan as there was with him? Perhaps Itachi had been right to call him weak, maybe Sasuke wasn't as strong or as smart or as much of a genius as everyone thought?

Sasuke's arms were beginning to get raw from rolling about on the floor. Plus, he was exhausted. It really was the most ironic thing of all; the one night where he had just tired himself out to the point of exhaustion was the one night where he needed to fight a life or death battle to defend his teammate.

Teammate? Sakura was his teammate, of course he had to defend her. But, was he really going to die for her? There was so much he still had to do yet; if he died right here who would avenge his family's deaths, who would make his brother pay? How would he ever be able to prove to his brother that he was no longer the scared little boy that could do nothing to stop him, rather he was the one who would slay him: the Itachi Uchiha, the one his father only seemed to see, the shadow that when he was younger it seemed he could never get out from. That one, Itachi Uchiha, the one that taunted his dreams, and even his waking world with words that always seemed to echo in his mind: _weak_, _worthless_, _not even worth killing_.

_Damn Itachi_, Sasuke thought, _I can not die yet; I still have someone I need to kill._

Suddenly, what he had been afraid of happened: Sasuke crashed into a thick object that was blocking his path. In a way he was glad; he felt like he had been rolling for miles now. And Sakura, where was she? Was she even alive? How far away was he from her now? And most important of all, where was his opponent?

* * *

Jin watched in mild entertainment as the Uchiha continued to roll away, managing to avoid any lethal strikes from the falling kunai. The young boy had ended up rolling down a small hill; the maelstrom of kunai following him as if they were falling from some cloud that remained above his head. Finally, he ended up colliding with a medium-size rock at the bottom of the hill. Somehow again the Uchiha had managed to protect himself from any serious injuries. Perhaps he was simply lucky; else perhaps he contained a strong self-preservation that had allowed him to instinctively protect himself.

Jin smiled, he would just have to see how far he could test the boy until he broke; Uchiha's were known to do this. The last thought brought a smile on Jin's lean face.

For a moment he was taken back to the time where he stood over the first black-haired Uchiha he had ever come across. Unlike the first time they had met, the other man now was on his knees begging Jin to spar his life. _Such weakness,_ Jin had thought then: this was the mighty Uchiha clan. This was perhaps the result of too much seemingly effortless power; it turned one soft inside. So if ever that power were to suddenly be taken from the wielder, all he was left with was nothing more than a great name.

"Please," begged the man before him, "I have a daughter, she n-needs me."

Jin sneered at the man, "Now why would she need a father who can no longer see?

The Uchiha scooted on the floor towards the sound of Jin's voice, the skin of his bare knees catching against the ragged carpet. His arms out in front of him, wildly searching for the robes of the man that had taken his eyes. Blood trailed down both of the Uchiha's cheeks, spilling from the sockets where once the trademarked eyes of the Uchiha bloodline existed; now only raw, pink flesh remained covered by nothing but the juices and arteries that once held those beautiful _weapons of power_ into place.

Jin only slapped the man's hands away. "You know," he said, his voice neutral, "For all the might of the Uchiha clan, without those eyes you hold so dear, you really are nothing more than weak, _pathetic_, little children."

"Please," the wounded Uchiha cried out. Jin raised his sword above the man's exposed back. "Please, I want to live."

"Please, I want to hold my daughter-" The blade sliced downward. With a grasp of pain, he crumpled to the ground. Jin held the sword in until the man's movements stopped. Then he abruptly removed the blade.

"Don't worry," He said in a calm voice as if he were talking to a friend, "You'll soon be able to hug her." Then he turned his back on the heap of bloodied flesh and headed for a door that lead to what looked like a child's room. In his hands he held a loose, leather-bound pouch; blood had soiled the bottom of it making the blue leather look almost black. The opening in the bag was just wide enough to reveal crimson light that was slowly fading in a deactivating Uchiha eye.

* * *

Sasuke did a series of blocks, his arms acting as a wave-like barrier that stopped the falling kunai from burying him; for now this seemed to be working. Though, he didn't know how much longer he could keep up these movements. For one moment, he wished that Kakashi, or maybe even Naruto was there. He wondered how different things would be if he were with Team 7 right now.

Part of him was so tired that it almost wanted to just drop his arms and let the kunai claim him. But another part, a part that was way to stubborn for that, knew that Sakura needed him; he couldn't just die and leave her defenseless with this psycho. It was as good as killing them both, and nothing would be more wasteful. The kunai were still managing to slice his arms, some slipped through the cracks of the barrier and hit his shoulders. Yes, he definitely wished Naruto was here, somehow that idiot seemed to have an endless well of stamina; he could really use that stamina right now.

* * *

Sakura's eyes opened again. Again more pain flooded her senses. This time though, she could no longer see Sasuke fighting her attacker. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open; where were they? Had the attacker won? No, Sasuke was too strong for that. If it had been Naruto then perhaps she would have been worried, but no, not Sasuke-kun, he was the best ninja she ever knew; he was near invincible.

Suddenly, her eyes were drawn upwards until they focused on a tall, lean figure standing on the top of a nearby small hill. _Oh no_. It was her attacker; he was looking down at the slope beneath.

"_Is that rain?_" Sakura thought, her mind must have been dealing with too much pain for her to be able to think straight, because now she was seeing what looked like heavy rain falling down upon the slope of the hill and no where else. Sakura could see her attacker's elbows sticking out from behind his back; he must have been forming hand signs.

_Sasuke-kun?_ Was he down there, amidst the rain? Her mind dismissed the thought the moment it began. _Not_ _Sasuke-kun, he wouldn't have fallen for some trick jutsu, only Naruto would be that stupid, or me._

Suddenly, she heard what sounded like a cry; someone below had made a small, but still audible scream of pain.

"No," this time the words made it to her lips, "Sasuke-kun would never be beaten, not like this."

* * *

Sasuke had let out an uncontrollable yelp when one of the kunai made it past his tiring barrier and pierced his shoulder. It seemed to contain some ungodly force that made it dig straight into the bone. Yet, Sasuke could not drop his defense, else he would be dead almost instantly. "_Shit,"_ he thought, "_Just how long can this go on for?" _

"_Fucking bastard, fight me already_!" Sasuke would much more prefer hand to hand combat, at least then he could look his opponent in the eye before he died; this was just plain embarrassing. He was going to die, crouched on the floor, fending off an attack from some unknown source, while his opponent merely watched from the sidelines either bored that he was dying in such a weak way (Itachi most certainly would have been) or else laughing that Sasuke had been so weak and stupid to fall into such a trap and what was more, still weaker and stupider to not be able to get out of it alive.

"_Fuck,"_ he thought miserably. This was not the way he wanted to die. Not like this; this was too insulting. He was an Uchiha; the last survivor of his mighty line. He was suppose to die in the battle where he took Itachi's life, or else in some other battle long after he had repopulated his clan. Not like this, scuttling on the ground, barely blocking the kunai that kept falling mercilessly upon him. He was going to die from _kunai_ of all things.

Now that he thought of it, just why was he dying? What was he going to die for? Sakura? The annoying fan girl that never shut her mouth once Sasuke entered the vicinity. No, he thought, chastising himself; he was going to die for a comrade. But even as those words entered his thoughts, he laughed bitterly._ Sakura_, a _comrade?_ The best she ever did was get in his way and the worst, well look at him, look were he was, dying! So, Sakura, _the comrade,_ really was only good for getting him into trouble, not helping him get out of it.

Again, he found himself wishing that Naruto was here; at least Naruto, though Kakashi and Naruto would have been better. He wasn't even sure when it had started happening, but somehow Naruto had grown from annoying and dead last to actually holding his own weight on the team and even at times—a lot of times now that Sasuke thought of it—Naruto was saving Team 7's ass. Not that he would ever admit this to Naruto.

If the word _comrade_ was to be used, it would be used to describe Naruto, and not Sakura. The best word that could describe the annoying pink haired ninja was, _scenery_. The best thing Sakura ever did was to just get out of his and Naruto's way. That was the way he liked her, just standing there, not running over to him talking as if she thought he cared to hear what she said, or getting herself into trouble as she had done tonight.

Another kunai swiped down and broke through his barrier. This time, it was a lot uglier. The stray blade went and pierced him right between the hollow of his back between the shoulder blades. _Fuck_! Sasuke cried out in his mind, another small groan escaped his lips again. This wound wasn't as deep as the first, however it was in a more inconvenient spot; with the muscles it chose to piece it would certainly slow down his blocking arms, and this could result in…his death.

For the first time, Sasuke heard those words very clearly in his mind. His. death.

_He was going to die._

Die?

Death, that endless black void from which there would be no awakening, no escaping…no returning from. He would forever be trapped there…no longer able to breathe fresh air into his lungs, or feel the wind on his face, no longer would he _even exist_. Sasuke couldn't even image the thought of not existing; it was just too foreign to him. As soon as he thought he imagined what is was like to simply fade away, he would go to a place where he would be watching himself fade away, yet that wasn't true. If he died, there would be no going to a place of watching, there would be no _him_ to go to that place to watch. _He_ simply would not exist. Sasuke started to shake inside. He felt small again, like he was eight years old staring up at Itachi's blood-covered blade. He didn't want to die. Not then, not ever! Sasuke wanted to live.

More and more kunai continued to rain down upon him. Another broke through; this time it targeted his lower back, fortunately it only just grazed the surface of his skin before it fell to the to ground. Sasuke had to do something. He had to or else he was going to die. He did not want to die, not now, not ever.

Suddenly, an idea sprung into his head: the _Transportation Jutsu_! Despite the fact that it was a more advanced jutsu that he was supposed to learn later, Sasuke had gotten into his father's scroll cabinet and had found that particular jutsu and had started to practice it early. He knew that he still held enough strength within him to perform it, however he had to make sure it transported him to a very far distance; after using a jutsu like that his already low chakra level would be just about depleted.

Just then Sakura's face swam into his consciousness.

_That's right; Sakura is still there, if I make the transportation too far, I won't be able to come back for her._

_But then again, with all of these kunai falling at this force and density, is she even still alive?_

Wouldn't it be ironic if he died to save a girl that was already dead? But, then again he didn't know for certain that she was dead. What if his opponent was only targeting him with the kunai and not Sakura?

Only targeting him, only killing him.

That's right, he was dying. And why was he dying for a girl that could already be dead and was even more annoying while she had been alive?

No, Sasuke couldn't die, not yet, not for Sakura, not when she might be already dead. He didn't have much time; if he didn't perform the Transportation Jutsu soon he would loose the chakra that was needed to do it. Already the rapid movements of his arms were by now depleting his chakra in greater amounts than even he had anticipated. It was now or never.

It was a choice of either death or fleeing. Between the forever blackness of not existing, and escaping to safety.

Safety. Where he could still kill his brother, still obtain his dreams. Sakura might already be dead anyways, was he really going to give his life—willingly go to that black and never-ending void of forgetfulness—only in the end, to have gone there for nothing.

No, Sasuke Uchiha wanted to live.

* * *

Jin watched as with a poof of smoke the last Uchiha vanished from the spot beside the rock. Suddenly, hundreds of kunai piled into the shape the boy's body had made now that his barrier was gone.

* * *

A/N: Well, tell me what you think! Thanks again for reading :)


	3. Realizations

Disclosure: Again, I don't own Naruto (can't help but feel stupid saying this)

Warning:** Violence** and **language**.

Criticism: Yes please! I really would appreciate reviews, preferably honest reviews, the franker the better. But anything goes!

A/N: Sorry about the huge wait! I've been a bit distracted with other stories. This will probably be the conclusion of this fic. I might end up doing a follow up story on it, but we'll see how busy I am with other stories. I supposed I'll be more inclined to do so if more people want a follow up. A HUGE thanks to everyone who reviewed, read, and favorited!

Synopsis: Sakura gets attacked while outside feeling sorry for herself that Sasuke does not love her, will Sasuke be able to rescue her? Or will she die unloved at the hands of her attacker?

* * *

**Realizations**

Sakura lay on the floor; the only sound she heard was the light panting coming from her own lips. '_Sasuke,_' She couldn't help wondering, '_Are you okay?_'

Suddenly a figure was before her. Sakura's eyes widened in terror: it was her attacker. Sasuke was no where in sight.

'_Sasuke? Oh God, please no!_' Had Sasuke met his fate? Sakura shut her eyes tightly, refusing to even think such thoughts. This was Sasuke she was talking about, the person that looked nothing but strong and capable in her eyes. The one that she knew looked down upon her because of her lack of strength; the one she knew would never love her. Yet, he had came for her, what had that meant? Perhaps he really did love her, perhaps…

Suddenly, she heard a light chuckle. Uncontrollably she opened her eyes, and regretted it the moment she had. Several inches above her were the light green eyes of her attacker narrowing in disgust, or was that amusement? Sakura was not certain. She was already far too tired from loosing so much blood.

"It is just us now, little girl."

At those words adrenaline began to pump through her veins, making her more alert, "No, you couldn't have beaten Sasuke, there's no way he's gonna—"

"Give up?" the man said, as if he was trying to finish her thoughts, "It's too late for those thoughts little girl, he is long gone."

"What?" Sakura didn't understand. What did he mean by _long gone_? By that, had he meant that Sasuke had run away or that he had been killed? Those thoughts had seemed so contradictory to what Sasuke would do in a fight that Sakura's brain couldn't understand it. Sasuke couldn't be defeated, not like that?!

"You're lying."

"You know," said the man, "I almost wish I was, I heard so much about the great Uchiha clan, and to think the last one is just a little coward."

"Shut up," Sakura hissed, yet her vision began to swim, she wasn't going to remain conscious for very long. "You don't know Sasuke."

The man smirked, this time Sakura could clearly see the amusement in his eerily green orbs.

"Sasuke is smart and brave, far more than a cowardly bastard like you who attacks women in the middle of the night." The man's smile seemed to widen; he brought a hand up to brush a pink lock out of her face.

"Sasuke is more than brave," Sakura was finding it difficult to talk, the words felt so heavy on her lips. "You-you don't know him like I do."

"You poor little girl," said the man, "You really are still a child, aren't you?" Sakura tried to back out of his touch, yet she only managed to weakly shake her head a little.

"You think simply because he has a handsome face that he has all of those valiant qualities you just listed." He let out a laugh. "You know, perhaps I should let you live, that way you will be able to see how the world really works."

"You don't know him," Sakura said, she felt so weak, yet somehow her voice still managed to sound defiant.

"You want to see for yourself, whelp," with that he grabbed her about the waist and lifted her up, carrying her at his hip, her legs just dangled since she was far too tired to try to kick him. Sakura let out several cries of pain when his hands roughly brushed over her open sores as he adjusted to get a better grip of her.

He brought her up to the hill where he had been standing on before he had come over to her. "Look down there." He commanded. Her neck hung heavily because of the position, causing her to look at the ground. However weak she was feeling, Sakura forced her head to look up. Looking down at the bottom of the hill, Sakura let out a small gasp. Thousands of kunai blanketed the ground below.

"Sasuke," Sakura said before she could stop herself, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.

"Crying already?" said the voice of her attacker, "I haven't even got to show you the best part." Suddenly, he plopped her down on her feet before he pulled her in front of him. Then she felt a calloused hand grip her chin and force her head to look to the left. "Look over there by that rock." Sakura looked: right next to a rather large bolder it looked like someone could have been recently crouching there for the kunai population was not as dense in that spot as it was elsewhere. Perhaps that had been where Sasuke had been? That meant Sasuke had somehow escaped the kunai.

Sakura let out a breath of relief, "He's okay." The release of tension caused new tears to spill from her large green eyes.

"Of course, he's okay," the man said in reply, "In fact, he's probably safe in his house by now, the little weakling."

Sakura shook her head, but the man cut her off. "He chose to save his own life; either he considered you already dead, or he figured you simply weren't worth dying over."

"No," Sakura said, "This is part of Sasuke's plan; you'll see he'll c—"

"Do you really believe that?"

"Of course I do, he came for me before," Sakura said, yet in the pit of her stomach she felt a sinking feeling. Perhaps Sasuke really had abandoned her? Maybe he thought she was already dead; it must have seemed as if the sky itself had opened up in a never-ending shower of kunai from where he was crouching. Perhaps he figured she didn't make it. But, to just leave? He couldn't have been certain she was dead; would Sasuke really abandon a teammate to die? Just then Sasuke face swam into her view, he turned and looked her right in the eye, cocking more of a sneer than a smile, he said: _"Sakura, you're annoying."_

That was right, that was how Sasuke thought of her: annoying. Perhaps she wasn't even a teammate in his eyes. After all, Sasuke had never told her as much, nor had he ever complimented her. He had even complimented Naruto (well, in a sort of insult-like fashion, but still, it was a compliment none the less).

"You see," the man's voice broke into her thoughts, "I saw him use a Transportation Jutsu; you should have seen how desperate he looked; there's no way he's coming back."

Sakura looked down at the floor; her attacker's arm still around her shoulders pinning her against his chest. Suddenly, that sinking feeling was back. Sasuke really had left her to die; there was no doubt. Despite how mean he could be to her, somehow she had always believed that he would eventually feel _something_ for her if she just kept on being persistent. Yet, it seemed like all of these hopeful thoughts were merely wishful thinking. If he could leave her to die that meant he really didn't care about her and no amount of time was ever going to change that. It was then that the sinking feeling seemed to overwhelm her.

"What's left for me now if Sasuke won't ever love me; what's left to live for?" Sakura whispered despairingly, not even realizing that those words had left her thoughts and escaped from her lips.

* * *

Sasuke leaned against the closest tree, his scrapped and bloody palms holding on to the rough bark, letting the tree support his weight. He was panting heavily, trying to catch his breath. Sure enough he had transported a fair distance away. He could see the familiar homes and shops of the Western district. His body felt as if he was about to collapse; his chakra drained to a dangerously low level. Reaching a shaky hand to the kunai lodged into the middle of his back, Sasuke yanked the blade free. Fortunately, he had been right about the depth the weapon had pierced his skin; the tip of the kunai had dug deep enough into his muscles to weaken the movement of his arms but not enough that it hit any of the nerves in his spine.

For a long time he just sat there panting, far too weary to even try to walk. That was then when it hit him: Sakura was dead; or if Sakura was not already dead she was probably dying right about now. Sasuke shook his head, the rapid movement making his vision swarm and his head throb; maybe if he got to the authorities he could try to send help. But, Sasuke doubted that they would get there in time, given that by the time he got his legs to move so he could tell someone what was going on it would be far too late. If Sakura was alive, she was at the mercy of her attacker right now; Sasuke shivered bitterly at the thought. But what could he have done? If he hadn't left when he did then both of them would be dead right now.

Staying shouldn't have even been an option, much less the correct choice he was supposed to make. All he would have done is just got himself killed while he stubbornly—and stupidly—tried to ward off the thousands of falling daggers; he barely had any more strength left to stand up, what would he have done if he had stayed there?

Saving his own life wasn't being cowardly; it was being smart. He was alive! Now he still had a chance to continue to train and get stronger; he still had his brother to face. Besides, at least one of them was alive, logically that was the better choice then loosing the both of them, right?

Sasuke pushed himself off of the tree; he had to get home so he could get these wounds cleaned up, not to mention he had to try to go get help for Sakura. Yet, at this rate the only help he was going to be able to give her was identifying the face of her murderer.

The moment Sasuke was no longer supporting himself by using the tree, his body wavered; Sasuke gripped the tree again so he didn't fall. It seemed like his chakra level was still too low to walk. Maybe he should just rest here for a bit longer; it wasn't like he had a choice anyway. However, the longer he rested the more unlikely that Sakura was going to survive. But she could already be dead. '_She is already dead if she was out in that kunai storm!_' Sasuke thought angrily, trying to shake the guilty feeling that was arising in the pit of his stomach.

Ten minutes passed. Sasuke felt a bit stronger; he decided to try another attempt at walking. Slowly, he pushed himself away from the tree. This time he didn't stumble; gradually he started to head in the direction of the hospital, there he could get help for Sakura. _But then it will be too late,_ whispered a little voice. Sasuke faltered; it sounded like Naruto.

'There's nothing I can do in this condition,' Sasuke thought, 'Going back there is suicide; not to mention wasteful, given that she could already be dead.'

_Coward!_

Sasuke stopped dead in his steps. 'Naruto?' That was definitely Naruto's voice; there was no mistaking it.

_Fucking coward!_

Sasuke growled into his mind. 'What the hell was I supposed to do, die?'

_So save yourself and let a fellow comrade die, is that it?!_

"Damn you, Naruto," Sasuke growled, "You naïve, little moron! So you'd really want both of us to die?"

_You don't even know she __**is**__ dead, teme! And you just left to save your own skin! There's no fucking way I'll ever call you my teammate again._

"Dammit Naruto," Sasuke hissed aloud, pinching his pale fingers over the bridge of his nose. "I don't fucking want to die!"

_That's your problem, isn't Sasuke?_ The voice of Naruto raged in his mind:

_You're so fucking afraid of death. You know what: you're gonna end up running probably to the ends of the fucking earth just so you can try to escape from death! You'll never avenge your family, because if you did that then there's a possibility that you might die and you don't want __**that**__ now do you?!_

This was stupid; Naruto wasn't really here. This was just his _conscious_ trying to install the right amount of guilt needed for him to return. But had his conscious even looked at the state his body was in right now?! He was just starting to replenish his chakra levels; going back would mean using another Transportation Jutsu. And with the weariness he was feeling already, literally all he would end up doing if he went back there would be to die right along side her. Sasuke growled inside his mind; was that what his stupid brain wanted him to do, die?!

* * *

"Stupid girl," Said the man as he felt her body sag in his grasp. Then he spun Sakura around to face him, "You've given up on living simply because you can't get some fantasy?" He shook his head, "Why is it that people seem to live for made up things? As if by simply believing in them they can make them true."

Sakura felt more tears welling up in her eyes.

"Isn't that why you were out here in the first place feeling sorry for yourself, simply because that scared, little whelp didn't love you?"

Sakura was silent.

"How much do you really know him, clearly next to none if you think he's invincible? I bet he hasn't lived for more than a decade or so, how the hell can he be all powerful? Last Uchiha or not." The man smirked; then he pulled Sakura against him, her head resting against his chest. His hand began to stroke through her hair.

"Let me tell you why you obsess over that little whelp," his voice sounded deceptively soothing, "You look at him and you see someone that looks capable, someone that seems to be able to do everything that you can not." Sakura could feel his fingers come to linger over her lips. "You think that with him you can make up for all of your many failures, isn't that right?"

His hand gripped tighter over her mouth. "Well, let me tell you a truth that if you'd been allowed to live to maturity you'd have realized. Inside we're all about the same: weak, lost and insignificant." Suddenly, she felt the tip of his blade at her side, "You see, he is no different," the tip pressed deeper into her skin, "And thus he will never be able to complete you in the ways you require."

"Please, don't kill me."

"What now you want to live? But what about 'there not being anything left to live for'?"

"I take it back." Sakura whispered.

"What given up on your crush already?"

"Y-yes," Sakura said, "P-please just let me live."

Suddenly, the blade at her side got shoved deep inside her skin. Sakura's eyes widened in shock, pain beyond imagining flooded her senses. She staggered against his chest, a trail of blood spilling from her lips. Her attacker only grabbed her hips and shoved her backwards; somehow Sakura managed to stumble onto her knees. Her hand went to rest on the weapon's hilt sticking out from between her ribs.

The attacker made a small circle around her, as if he was observing his handiwork.

"I'm sorry, kid," he said in a neutral voice, "But, I can not allow you to live. You see, that is not my _ninja way_; when I fight, it is to the death."

Sakura closed her eyes. She had only one emotion: regret. There was so much she had yet to do and now her life was going to end. Her attacker drew a long sword out of his belt. Her mind thought about Sasuke. So he had chosen to save his own life? How could she really blame him? Yet a part of her seemed to wail in agony at the thought: Sasuke had chosen to save his life, run away in the midst of a fight, instead of trying to help a comrade. That was not the Sasuke she loved so much. That was merely a scared little boy; that was something _she_ would do. Sasuke had always been so different then her; she had always told herself how much _better_ he was then her. But if he ran away instead of fought, how really different was he than her? It was as if she was loosing two people, her life and her beloved image of Sasuke that she had held so dear within her heart. No, Sasuke was not what she first thought he would be. Sasuke was no stronger than she was, in a way. For the first time in her life since she started to crush on him, Sakura wished she would have actually tried to get to know him: if he really wasn't all that different than her, than she had no reason to idolize him. Perhaps she could have gained a friend.

Sakura's eyes caught the gleam of moonlight flashing against metal as her attacker raised his sword into the air. Perhaps if she would have merely talked to him like he was just another boy she might have died possessing a real friendship. Now she was going to die all alone with her only company being a vain image of someone who did not exist. '_I'm sorry Sasuke._' Sakura whispered in her mind, though she knew he would never hear her. '_I'm sorry I never really knew you, and that I was so caught up in myself._' A lone tear trailed down her cheek. '_If I had only known we weren't so different perhaps, I wouldn't have felt so sorry for myself and wandered off all by myself. Perhaps I wouldn't have ended up getting into this mess. Perhaps…_'

Sakura heard the sound of the sword ripping through the air as it bore down upon her.

'_Perhaps, we might have been friends._'

Suddenly, she felt arms catch her around the waist, before she was shoved to the ground, a heavy weight falling painfully on top of her. She could smell him before she saw him. Sasuke smelt of sweat, dirt and blood. He was panting against her ear. Suddenly, she felt his hands on her shoulders; then he pulled the both of them off of the ground. Her blurry eyes caught sight of her attacker's shocked face several feet away, his sword hung low to the ground in the spot that she had been kneeling on just moments before.

Sasuke grabbed her by the shoulders, and shoved her behind him.

"Sakura," he said, his voice a rough, broken whisper, "Get out of here."

Sakura felt like she was about to collapse; her ribs aching with mind-numbing pain. Her vision seemed far too blurry to actually see, but still she caught sight of his slumped shoulders and the scraps and bruises all over the back of his arm.

"Go Sakura, or we'll both die." Sasuke said harshly. His hand pulled out a kunai; Sakura saw his fingers shaking with exhaustion.

"Y-ou, you came back?" Sakura asked, her voice barely above a whisper, "W-why?"

"Forget it," Sasuke snapped, "Would you rather I let you die?

"Now get the hell out of here!"

"Well, I don't know if I should be impressed at your value of a fellow teammate's life, or laugh at your stupidity." Sakura's attacker said, drawing a shorter blade in the other hand not currently holding the long blade. Slowly, he approached the pair.

"You know that by coming here you have sealed your fate, Uchiha."

Sakura stumbled back and fell to her knees.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke said, "Run."

"You know she can't do that." The attacker said, "Clearly, you're dumber than I thought, boy, now you have gotten yourself killed right along with her."

Then his green eyes flashed, "Though I suppose I should thank you; for now my master will be pleased. I'm afraid you are too weak to stand before my great master, but he'll like to study you none the less."

A grin split his narrow face, "Of course, all I really need from you, Uchiha, are those eyes of yours."

"Feh," Sasuke spat, "You said you always fight to the death, huh?" Sasuke's dark eyes narrowed, "Then let's finish it so I can send you to the grave." With that Sasuke drew another kunai from his pants hostler. He knew if he activated his Sharingan if would speed up the chakra consumption of the little chakra he still possessed. He had been able to get his chakra levels up enough to use the Transportation Jutsu again, and once here he had somehow managed to have the strength to save her from that attack. Still, Sasuke activated his Sharingan; he had come too far to back down now. Though he would probably die here, tonight he would face death in the eye; tonight there was no running away!

"Sakura," Sasuke said in a low voice, "I'm sorry I left; don't die."

Sakura watched as Sasuke charged at the man before him, a cry of fury escaping his lips. Yet, her eyes were closing. She fought to keep them opened. She had to get away; Sasuke was giving her an opening. She stumbled forward. The clashing of metal against metal could be heard. Suddenly, she heard the swiping sound of blade against flesh and Sasuke let out a groan. Weakly, Sakura craned her neck to see, her blurry eyes revealed the two of them still clashing against each other, but Sasuke was limping. It looked like the blade had sliced a long gash down his left thigh.

Sakura had a flashback to when she was fighting that man; perhaps her eyes were too blurry to tell but Sasuke looked just as weak as she had been fighting against him.

"Eiy," Sasuke let out a cry this time, one of his blades falling from his hand.

Sakura began to crawl for a nearby tree, ripping the grass out by the roots as she used them to pull herself along the ground; Sasuke had told her to get away, she had to at least try.

Just then she heard the sound of metal against metal, and then the clanking of a weapon falling to the ground. She spun her head around; her vision swam heavily. Sasuke was completely disarmed.

It was as if she was watching it in slow motion: she saw her attacker's blade coming straight down into the side of Sasuke's exposed back.

"SASUKE!" Sakura heard herself scream. Sasuke's eyes met hers, before they widened in horror. Sakura watched horrified as her attacker's blade dug into Sasuke's skin. The attacker then pulled his blade out from the wound he created; Sasuke tumbled to the ground.

"SASUKE!" Sakura cried all the louder. Her attacker dug his heal straight into Sasuke's gaping wound, then he kicked his heal against Sasuke's side and turned him onto his back.

"NO!" Sakura cried out, her vision completely blurred as thick tears welled up in her eyes.

"Now, Uchiha, I must keep the promise I made to my master," said the attacker, coming down to kneel beside Sasuke. Sasuke glared up at him, and pressed his lips shut. He didn't beg for his life; he still had his pride.

Sakura heard a flipping sound and noticed the man opening a small pocket knife. He lowered the blade to Sasuke's face, pointing the tip at the bottom corner of Sasuke's left eye. Then he leaned over and blocked Sasuke from her view.

Suddenly, the man's arm began to rapidly move back and force as if he was sawing at something. Sakura heard the ripping sound of blade tearing flesh.

"Eeiiiiyy," Sasuke started making a growl like scream. Sakura saw his hand, which lay open palmed on the ground, clutch into a fist.

"Sasuke," Sakura murmured in horror as she realized that the man was cutting at Sasuke's flesh trying to remove his eye. Sakura began to crawl her way over to Sasuke. Her vision blurred heavily; the blade in her side sending electric jolts of pain through her body. Sakura sunk to the ground; the pain was almost unbearable. Sasuke continued to scream out. Sakura had never heard him yell like this. She had to do something.

"_Heal," _Sakura said into her mind, _"For God's sake heal!"_ With all of her remaining energy Sakura focused her chakra into her side. Sasuke's hand had fought its way up to his face and it looked like he was trying to force the attacker's hand away. The attacker moved a little to get a better grip; now Sakura could see more of what was happening.

From the skin around his eye, trails of blood were leaking down the sides of Sasuke's cheek.

"Heal," Sakura said aloud her voice raspy but desperate. Sasuke had come back to save her; Sasuke was just as afraid as she had been, but he had not abandoned her. She couldn't abandon him. Finally, she no longer felt afraid of dying; if that was what was going to happen, there was nothing she could do to prevent it. But she was not going down without a fight. There was no way she was going to leave Sasuke to have his eyes cut out by this psycho and not do everything in her power to help him.

If only she wasn't so weak. _Dammit, heal!_ Sakura screamed into her mind. It was then that she felt her chakra swirling around her wound like a mad swarm of bees.

"Eeiiiiyy," Sasuke let out what could only be described as a death cry. Suddenly, Sakura looked up in horror. No, she couldn't be hearing that? But she was; Sasuke was sobbing.

"SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura cried out. Nothing but a thick pile of blood could be seen when the attacker shifted to the other side of Sasuke's face. Sakura's eyes widened. In the hand of her attacker, she saw a leather pouch filled with something, the bottom of it looked dark and was dripping with blood.

"S-stop!" Sasuke managed to get out in between sobs.

Something inside Sakura just clicked. Throwing her head back, Sakura sent all of her chakra to her wounds; the force hit her so strongly that she stumbled back as if stuck. But, it worked. Her body was healing itself; her weakness seemed to finally be turning into strength.

"You son of a bitch!" Sasuke screamed out again. Sakura heard her attacker only start laughing.

That was it. Sakura rose to her feet, her chakra felt sporadic; all over her body she could feel her chakra flowing as if she had just opened up a dam. Slowly her body was beginning to close its wounds. Sakura put a trembling hand to her side and yanked out the blade that had pierced her in between the ribs, letting out a cry at the pain. Slowly she began to hobble over to where they were.

Her attacker was laughing now; still she could hear the sawing sound of blade severing flesh, Sasuke's screams in between cries echoing all around her. Sakura held her breath so as not to make a sound; she approached the back of her attacker. With all of the anger building up inside her, she threw herself on to his back, her blade digging into his skin.

A gasp was heard. Her attacker stiffened. Sakura pulled out and stuck the weapon back in this time aiming for his neck. Cries upon cries ripped from her throat, as more and more she kept stabbing her attacker with his own blade.

It was then she felt resistance. Sasuke had grabbed the blade cutting into his flesh and had turned it around; with a fury of his own he stabbed the man in the chest. A trail of blood fell from the mouth of the stabbed man before he staggered forward, but Sakura wouldn't let him fall the remaining way to land on Sasuke; instead, she pushed his now lifeless body off to the side. The man rolled to the floor dead. But Sakura wasn't done with him.

"You bastard!" Sakura screamed and plunged her blade again and again into the lifeless man's side. "Die, you horrible, how could—" Sakura broke down sobbing.

Suddenly, a shaky hand reached out and trembling fingers brushed against her leg. Sakura paused. "Sasuke?" She spun around. Sasuke had his left hand over the spot where his eye should have been. The other side of his face was covered in blood; Sakura could see deep cuts all around his other eye. Sasuke was panting, and looked far paler than she had ever seen him look before. It was then she noticed blood gushing out of his side where her attacker had struck him. _He's loosing too much blood._ Sakura's mind screamed at her. "Sasuke," Sakura crawled over to him, coming to lean over him.

"You okay, I take it?" Sasuke panted in between breaths. Sakura just nodded. Her mind started to act on its own account. Reaching out her hand, Sakura went to pull his hand off of his right eye. Sasuke's hand on her wrist stopped her.

"Let me," Sakura commanded, "I can do it, I can use my chakra to heal you."

"What?" Sasuke said.

"Heal you," Sakura said, "That is how I healed myself." Sasuke looked at her as if she had gone insane.

"Fucking trust me!" Sakura erupted, "You're loosing too much blood!"

Sakura wormed her wrist out of Sasuke's grasp, and paled when she felt his weak attempt to resist her.

Sakura was about to pull his hand off when he, weakly this time, clasp his hand over hers. "It-it's," Sasuke started, "Y-you shouldn't see me like this."

"Oh Sasuke," Sakura let out a cry, "I actually DO see you now; this won't make you look any worse in my eyes."

Sakura pulled off his bloody fingers. She drew in a breath. Yet, immediately covered his open wound with her palm, her other hand coming to rest over the wound on his side. "Heal," Sakura whispered, not caring that she said these words aloud. Sasuke's other eye was just watching her. Sakura looked at the hopelessness she saw reflected there. Did he really believe he was going to die? Well, then she would show him otherwise. There was no way that Sakura would allow the love of her life to die on this hill. _Love of her life?_ Well, yes. Yes, she had seen Sasuke, the real Sasuke. The scared and very human Sasuke. But though at first she had been letdown that her crush was not larger than life, afterwards a new love for him began to grow. Now he was simply Sasuke: rude, scared and yes a bit cowardly and selfish at times. But, still, she loved him—now all the more because, like her, he too was real. He too was human; he too had strengths and weaknesses and for the first time in her life she wasn't afraid of them. Nor did she care that her beloved's handsome face might not be so handsome anymore; for to her, Sasuke would always possess a handsomeness that was beyond the world itself.

Sakura felt her body sending waves of healing chakra into Sasuke's wound. She looked down at him to find that his eye was closed. Yet, Sakura didn't worry that he might have died from shock or loss of blood. She could feel the insides of his body: his blood flowing; his heart beating; his charka returning. She wouldn't let him die.

* * *

A/N: Again, sorry for the wait…let me know if you guys want a follow up story. And if you guys have had problems with pages not fully loading or what not, sorry! I've been editing this thing like crazy! Note to self: never post a story on the same night it is written it never turns out well. Note taken: hehe!

Thanks for reading!

A/N updated: I have started writing a sequel to this fic called Not All Who Wander. For any of you who are interested you can find it on my profile.


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